"Major, check our personal weapon status."
"Yes, Captain."
Sardac checked the bridge crew's side arms and then went over to a spot on the floor and pulling up a panel, exposed underlying small arms and grenades. Some other equipment was also visible in the compartment. The major left the floor panel open and walked over to the Captain's chair to give her report.
"Each bridge crewman has a side arm with two reloads. In the armory, we have six automatic rifles and a box of twelve grenades. We also have a case of twenty thermite grenades to use on methane breathers, or anyone else we might want to incinerate. There’s no body armor and no helmets."
"Very well, major, we’ll have to make do and keep enough people back to fly the ship if we can get the hangar doors open."
"Glad you feel that way, Captain. I was not planning to surrender."
Slone looked Sardac in the eyes and said with the deepest feeling he could muster, "We will never surrender." To this Sardac gave a silent nod and a small smile formed on her face. She knew they would prevail or die in this galaxy.
“Horst, are the entire camera’s back up yet?”
The chief engineer looked up from his work and replied, “The rest are coming back on line now, captain.”
Before he could finish, more images of the ship interior began to appear on the screen in the form of a slideshow. The CIC crew looked up and all noticed immediately that there were still no crewmembers present on any part of the ship. There were also no bodies anywhere and this confirmed the first impression that there had not been a battle. The ship looked to be in good shape but there was no indication of the condition of the propulsion systems. One aspect that caused Slone to breathe a sigh of relief, there was still no sign of aliens onboard.
“Major Sardac, take the CIC guards and the chief engineer and get me a damage report. I want to know if this ship can move or not.”
“Yes sir. Commander Stravinsky, whenever you’re ready.”
The chief engineer gathered the equipment he would need and headed out with the marine escort. After they made certain the corridor in front of CIC was clear and life support was up, they opened the CIC door and exited as quickly as possible. As the door closed behind them, Slone began to see how far their passive sensor could reach. They used the normal radiation from the system star as the energy source and, using the emissions from the star, turned the star system into a large x-ray machine to show the interior of the ship that held them. The plus side of doing this, it required no emissions to tip off anyone that the Hayden was not deserted. The down side is it only showed the interior of the starboard side of the ship, the side between the Hayden and the star. Slone hoped that would be enough. As the starboard interior of the alien ship came into view, the sheer size of the vessel came into better focus. What seemed strange about the images are the size of the rooms and the lack of anyone visible in the ship. Slone was not sure what kind of alien’s they were dealing with, but some sign of them should have been visible. If the Hayden held 250 crew and 100 marines, a ship that could easily hold the Hayden should have a crew in the thousands. It was clear there were two main areas in use. One forward, that had to be the bridge. Indistinct shapes populated it. The resolution of the makeshift x-ray machine would not allow any detail. There appeared to be about 25 to 30 crew on the bridge. The other concentration of aliens was in the rear part of the vessel, most likely that related to engineering. The center of the ship had only rare moving images as well as a large hold containing a solid object at least three decks tall. What this could be was a total mystery. So far, this entire galaxy has been a mystery and Slone wanted only one thing, to get out and back to the Milky Way. So far, the examination of the alien ship showed no indication of where the Hayden crew was being kept. They must have been held on the port side.
While the CIC crew kept trying to locate the missing crewmembers, Major Sardac’s party, slowly advanced through the Hayden to check on damage. After leaving the CIC, the first stop was the bridge. The marines made sure the area was secure and then the chief engineer entered. The electronics were still on line but all the screens showed snow. There was no sign of the crew who controlled the vessel when in combat. The CIC could take over in a pinch but mostly relied on the bridge to take care of all but combat functions. There was some disarray on the bridge but no signs of a struggle. They moved to the front of the bridge and looked out of the bridge windows. They were greeted by the same view the monitors had shown them. A hangar filled with various sized vessels but no crew. The alien ship appeared as deserted as the Hayden. They could not even be certain if the ship was moving or adrift in space. There was simply no way to see outside of the trap in which they found themselves.
From the bridge, the survey party worked their way towards the engine room. They moved slowly and cautiously as they examined every area for major damage to the hull. Normally this would be done by the electronics, and will be supplemented by them, when they come on, but Horst Stravinsky was most interested in big areas of damage that were unfixable, given their present circumstances. The Major also had a stop in mind as they worked their way aft. When she got to the hangar she picked up an antigravity sled used to move heavy objects and told one of the marines to bring up the rear with it. The hangar of the Hayden seemed untouched. The three ship’s shuttles were still in place as was the rocket sled used by Captain Slone to return to the ship before its capture. As they moved deeper into the Hayden on the way to the engines, they were all struck by the eeriness of the vessel. Normally there was always someone on board doing something. To see her deserted was a circumstance that had never occurred. The plan was to go down the starboard side of the ship to the engines and return on the port side. Checks on the decks above and below the one being used were also implemented, but the ship was just too large for so small a group to examine thoroughly. They assumed that any survivors hearing them call up and down the ladders would respond in a desire to be found.
Half way between the hangar and the engine room, they came to the marine’s quarters. This was a section on both sides of the ship where half the marine detachment of 100 was quartered on the starboard side, with the other half on the port side. Sardac called a halt and began to issue orders. She sent two marines to the other side to check it out and took the remaining three marines, the antigravity sled and the chief engineer down a side corridor towards the center of the ship.
“Where are you taking us, Major?” Horst Stravinsky asked. “The captain wanted us to evaluate the engines as soon as possible.”
The Major called a halt and turned towards the engineer. “Commander, this won’t take long and I assure you the captain will be pleased.”
They continued and soon found themselves in front of a solid metal wall that had a small keypad on it. When the engineer saw this, he knew what the Major was after and agreed the captain would be pleased. The Major punched some keys and suddenly the wall split on a hidden seam and both halves retracted into the sidewalls to expose a fully supplied armory of light to heavy weapons. Sardac looked into the room and gave a knowing smile. “Guess the aliens who took our ship are not all that smart after all. They should have secured this, unless they think the ship is deserted. This confirms they knew nothing about the shielded CIC area. Syms, bring in the antigravity sled and load up with heavy weapons, grenades and plenty of ammo for all of our weapons. Also, get a full suit of body armor for everyone in the CIC with ten extra, just in case. We’re going to war.”
“Yes sir”, replied the marine controlling the sled. As he brought the sled into the armory, Sardac had the other marines take what she wanted. Soon the sled was piled high with crates of weapons and ammo. Much more than the small group in CIC could use, but she hoped they would find more crew somewhere in the vast alien vessel.
“Syms, you and Granits take those weapons back to the CIC. Go exactly the way we came and don’t stop for anything or anyone.”
The marines nodded acknowledgement, moved ba
ck into the corridor, and headed straight for the CIC. Sardac and the remaining three marines as well as the chief engineer loaded up with ammo and continued moving towards the engine room. No matter where they looked, there was no one else aboard the Hayden. In the absence of any signs of a fight, Sardac assumed the crew was removed while they were still unconscious. They must be in some holding area or prison aboard the alien vessel. She hoped they could still track them by the chips with which every member of the Sinclair fleet was injected. These served two purposes, to locate missing crew and to identify bodies that were damaged beyond recognition. All bulkhead doors were open, though they had been shut while at battle stations. None of them had been forced so the aliens must have a way to override the locking mechanisms. After a half hour of careful progress, checking constantly for survivors or enemies, they finally reached the engine room and secured it. Stravinsky went straight to work examining the engines for damage.
Aboard the scout ship, Alaya and her crew watched as the alien vessel increased to fill their view screen. They had spent hours silently sailing the star-wind towards the alien and they were now as close as they dared approach a human ship. She had no idea how keen the alien eyesight was or how much they used magnification equipment. She was hoping they were not expecting another ship to be in the system, since they had been very careful to stay in stealth mode. A parallel course was set and enough sail was retracted to match the speed of the alien. The large vessel was slowly moving in the direction of the wormhole but at a slight angle so as not to head directly to it. Sensors indicated an outgoing slipstream on the other side of the wormhole from where they were located. The alien was still mostly powered down, recovering from the massive burst of energy that crippled the Hayden.
“Somehow, I’ve got to get over there and see what’s happening. How far are we from the alien?”
Roger Umgabe checked his instruments. “Approximately five kilometers.”
Alaya opened the bridge door and called for Dane to come in. “Dane, I want to get over to the alien ship to see what’s happened to the Hayden. How do you suggest I cover the gap without a boarding sled?”
“Alaya, your father gave me strict orders to keep you safe. I can’t allow you to go over there alone.”
“Dane, this is my ship and I give the orders here. If you can figure out a way to get some of your marines and myself over there, I’ll be glad to have you join the party. Nevertheless, make no mistake; I intend to board that ship. We are undetected here and I’m willing to bet their sensors can’t pick up single human bodies floating in space.”
Dane thought a few minutes before speaking. “We could tie ourselves together wearing space suits and have the lead person use a jet pack to propel us across. The jet will have to be used only once for a very short time, just enough to propel us and then discarded so there’s no heat signature. We’ll have to rely on stopping ourselves as we reach the outer hull of the vessel.”
“I like it. Simple and elegant. Get two volunteers as well as you harnessed up and I’ll take the lead spot.”
Dane was about to object to this when the look Alaya gave him silenced his objection before it could be uttered. Dane went back to his men and chose two men out of the entire remaining marines, all of whose hands went up when he asked for volunteers. He decided on two who had done this sort of boarding maneuver before and whom he could trust to carry it out well. He set up watches with the remaining marines in his absence and assigned one to be in command of those remaining on the scout. Alaya told both her crew and the marines to be ready to pull away if there should be any hostile movement on the part of the alien ship. She also reminded them that guarding the memory core and bringing it back to their galaxy was still the primary mission.
Once all was ready, Alaya put on her space suit and put the personal jetpack on her shoulders. She then tied the front end of the rope around her waist and hooked it into a clasp for that purpose at the back of her suit. This would make sure she did not pivot while using the jetpack. She looked back at the three men behind her and each gave the thumbs up ready signal. They moved to the cargo hold and, when the inner doors were secured, they depressurized the hold and opened the cargo door. The sight before them was filled with stars and their home galaxy behind the massive bulk of the alien vessel some five kilometers away. Alaya braced herself on the edge of the door with her boots and then kicked off from the ship in the direction of the alien. The rope between her and Dane was longer than the segments between the men. This was to allow the jetpack to fire and not harm the man behind. They planned to maintain radio silence, just in case the alien could listen in on their frequencies. All Sinclair space suits had rear helmet cams to give the wearer a picture of what was behind them. This picture was visible in the upper left hand corner of the HUD projected onto the interior of the helmet, above the face shield. The rest of the Heads-Up-Display consisted of vital signs and important suit measurements, such as life support. Alaya hoped they would not need to worry about any suit functions, since they would not be wearing them for long. The oxygen had been replenished after the fight on the moon and the stats were all green across the board.
Alaya reached the end of the rope between her and Dane just as Dane pushed off from the scout. The marines had done this many times and knew exactly when to push off to keep the rope tight without pulling back on those ahead of them. When the last marine exited the scout cargo bay, the bay doors closed. Alaya moved the joystick on her jetpack to use the maneuvering jets to align with the hangar of the alien vessel. She was aiming for the aft border of the hangar deck force field, near its bottom. This was a tricky maneuver but necessary. If they simply entered the force field at a high level, the artificial gravity of the alien vessel would cause them to plummet to the hangar deck as they came through the force field. This would not be a desired outcome. They had to enter cautiously at the floor of the hangar to make sure that no one was able to see them enter. Once she was satisfied with the alignment, Alaya pushed the button at the top of the joystick and gave a three second burn of the main thrusters. This would give them the speed needed to traverse the 5 kilometers to the alien without giving them a speed requiring a retro-rocket burn to slow down. The wall of the vessel can stop them. She also hoped the quick burn would not be detected by the vessel. When the burn was complete, she wriggled out of the jetpack and pushed it away from her to drift in an endless orbit around an unknown star in a far galaxy.
The four humans were strung together like a set of pearls as they covered the distance between the ships. As they neared the alien, the full magnitude of the size of her left them breathless. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the small group came to the side of the alien and collided gently with the outer hull. Alaya was surprised at the force with which she hit the hull. She had not thought they were moving that fast, but this ship was made of extremely dense material. It was not built as haphazard as the ships belonging to the methane breathers. When all of the marines had made contact, they worked their way to the lower aft corner of the force shield covering the hangar deck. Dane ordered the two marines to go in first and he followed quickly behind. Alaya entered last and stood behind the barrier formed by her three escorts. The hangar deck was no different from the ones back home, with ships of various sizes meant for different purposes. In the middle of the deck, she could see the Hayden. It was sitting in a cradle that appeared to be makeshift and she did not look any the worse for wear. Any battle damage visible could be related to previous events and not due to the capture of the Hayden. It must have taken a large crew to build the cradle holding the star cruiser, yet the deck was deserted. As Dane was about to give the signal to move towards the Hayden, they heard a deep rumble coming from the lower decks of the alien vessel. This settled into a steady hum. Dane checked the readouts on his helmet and opened the faceplate when it was clear that a breathable atmosphere surrounded them. The oxygen level was a bit higher than on earth but otherwise there was nothing dangerous in the air
. The communicator in Alaya’s suit vibrated and she looked at her HUD to see a text message from her ship. They decided that burst transmissions of text would be the least detectable form of communication.
“The Dragon’s Claw reports the alien vessel has gotten under way. We are slowly heading for the slipstream on the other side of the wormhole. We have 24 hours before we reach the slipstream. We’ll be opposite the wormhole in 14 hours. We have to make our move then, no matter what we find here.”
The marines nodded understanding and began to move towards the Hayden’s center airlock. They decided this would to be the best place to enter the ship. The airlock was in a crew housing area and not likely to have alien guards, since it had no strategic value. They reached the airlock in 15 minutes and Dane keyed in the Sinclair codes necessary to activate the door. All ships worked on the same system of codes, which rotated periodically. This allowed any Sinclair soldier to enter any ship of the Sinclair fleet. A maneuver, which was very important in battle when ships were destroyed, and boarding parties were operating among the fleet. The outer airlock door opened and they all piled into the airlock and closed the door behind them. They waited for the inner door to open as the airlock cycled. While they were waiting, they stripped off their spacesuits and checked their weapons and ammo. No telling what was on the other side of the door.
Voyage of the Hayden (The Adventures of Christopher Slone Book 1) Page 16